Chambers Books

I bought this book as a gift for my linguist girlfriend. She thought it was fantastic. She used it whilst at Uni, some 10years ago, but never managed to purchase a personal copy. For me, the layman who knows little about etymology, it's also made for some pretty interensting and sometimes very amusing conversation over some beers with friends.

While I'm sure it's not for everyone, I enjoy Chambers' mix of etymology and anecdote. Loads of fun to just crack open to any page, and Build Your Word Power(tm).

To my surprise I found this book to be no better than my 50 year old Webster Collegiate Dictionary. About the same number of roots, similarly presented.

I bought the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, largely based on reviews posted here. While I love the 'prose' style of word origin discussions, there has scarcely been a time the book has proved useful. The fact is, Eric Partridge's "Origins" : a Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English" surpasses Chambers on a daily basis for my purposes. It goes deeper, gives you a wealth of threads for further investigation and contains some spicy asides regarding other distionaries. That one needs to familiarize oneself with abbreviations is simply no objection.
My view is : by-pass Chambers and get a real etymological dictionary. You will never regret it. I have a pristine copy of Chambers for sale should you incline to the contrary.

This book is the best priced collection of word origins out today. It provides readers with a wealth of insight with the history of words using dates and phonetic roots. It is a must have for anyone interested in etymology!

Anne Chambers is the authority on Granuaile O'Malley, and she has written the definitive scholarly work in this biography on her.

This book was excellently written. To the person who said the anti-christian statements were not true- Let me guess? Your a christian right. Thats the problem with christians, they still deny the truth no matter what. Christianity has always been a man's religion and its the most degrading religion to women and womens rights that has ever existed. I'm glad this author had the guts to be more unique and unconventional to tell the TRUTH. Sorry Christians. I know you never appreciate that.

I'm an O'Malley, so you can bet I was looking forward to this book. However, with all due respect to the author, at least in the early going, this book contains some anti-Christian, radical feminist claims that put into question the integrity of the rest of it. For instance, on page 17-18 (paperback edition) the author states: "The writings of the early Christian saints, such as Paul, John, Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine, reflected the degraded position of women in Roman society. Augustine wrote of the 'horrible beastliness of women'..."

Not surprisingly, the author can not substantiate this claim and therefore does not give reference to the original source documents in her endnotes as she does with other claims. Don't get me wrong, there is no doubt that the period in which Granuaile lived was male dominated, and at times, shamefully so. However, that doesn't give an author a license to try to right any injustices by yet another injustice.

It's a shame that the apparent good intentions of this author were laid waste by her seeming desire to bash males and Christianity. A biographer should, at the very least, seek, know and uphold the truth, and then tell the good, the bad and the ugly in an even handed way. This isn't too much to ask.

It's my fault really but this book is just not what I was looking for and I could not get through it.

Anne Chambers' book provides a fascinating and inspiring glimpse into the life of an extraordinary Irish woman. Ms Chambers does an excellent job painting a picture of life in Ireland during the 16th century and the role of women in Ireland through the ages. Anyone traveling to Ireland or interesting in Irish history and the role of women in Irish society will benefit from reading this biography.

What a wonderful way to share the gospel with your children, grandchildren, or even the child within you. You won't be dissapointed with this wonderfully illustrated devotional.

I have to say... as a mom who is very concerned about the spiritual upbringing of her children, I highly recommend this book. Especially for those who have small children with short attention spans- as most do at early ages. Yes, the devotionals are short, but to the point, and my kids actually get it. The gospel is simple- why complicate things... After we read the days devotion I ask them simple questions that bring out certain points in the reading. Through these devotionals, they are learning how to apply these principals to life at home, in relationships, at school, and in their own spritual growth, and so on. Yes, I recommend this book.

This book is a nice little daily inspirational perpetual calendar that kids can spend just a few minutes a day reflecting on their faith. As kids learn to understand the bible better then these passages grow stronger and more meaningful to use in their daily lives through the years. The cartoon illustrations are very cute. I have personally bought 50 copies over the last 5 years to give as gifts. I hope you enjoy as much as I do with my children.

Maybe that was a little too harsh. But I started using this book with my son a couple of weeks ago. I am always looking for good devotional books, and when I saw this had some good reviews and had enough material for a year, I decided to give it a try.

It is short all right -- maybe three or four sentences on each page. And my son always wants to know the story about the picture. But there is no story about the picture, because what is on the page doesn't relate.

When finding devotional material, I want something that will hold my son's interest while teaching him Biblical concepts. Because there is no story, it doesn't really hold his interest, and the content is so simplified that it is basically meaningless. After reading it, I often don't see anything we could possibly discuss!

If you want to have an empty ritual every day that you call "devotions," this may be a great book for you and your child to use. But if you want something that will both interest and teach your child, I would recommend looking elsewhere.

The only reason I could guess as to why certain people wouldn't be gripped spiritually by this book is because it doesn't speak to a worldly heart. Personally, I find the illustrations match the messages perfectly! Phil Smouse simplified Oswald Chambers original words in such an unexpectedly powerful way.

At first I convinced myself I was buying this book for my 6 month old grandson. He's going to get his own copy...I'm treasuring this one. In fact, I plan to buy several copies of this book just in case it ever goes out of print.

I still read the classic edition of "My Utmost for His Highest" written for adults and it too is awesome. Jesus did say we are to be child-like. Now I really understand what Matthew 18:3 (..."Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.") means!

Here's an example taken from July 23rd's devotion to 1 Corinthians 1:30 ("Of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption."):
"Everything God has is mine. His goodness. His love. His holiness. His faith. Everything! He gave them all to me. Because I deserve it? No. Because He loves me."

Smouse is obviously gifted in his ability to express emotion through his artwork and to condense the deeply profound messages in the way he does cannot be done without God's Spirit.

It is nice that someone decided to republish this book (when I was a kid it was almost impossible to find). Anyway, the edition is nice, but it would be cool if someone did an academic edition of the book. I am surprised no one has thought of this yet.

Each time a reader reads this book, he or she is actually reading the same book spoken of in the text, the reading of which will drive the reader mad - case in point, the only passages that we are allowed to glimpse from the legendary "King In Yellow" within the stories are the same passages that appear in the actual copy one is reading at the time. For all of you who have seen the film "The Ring", think of it as a videotaped "King In Yellow" - beware the Yellow Sign, lest your reputation become beyond repair!

well, chambers stories have a LOT of potential. he has quite an imagination. very original guy. and very different. he could have been truly weird. but he doesn't know when to stop. he can suddenly stretch the story too far in one direction, amazingly enogh: away from the horror. also he likes to include romance even when it doesn't fit. he has an anarchic style that destroys the stories.

Has anyone noticed the plagiarism regarding the Japanese movie [now remade in the United States] called "The Ring" and "The King In Yellow"? --In the 1895 novel, whoever read this banned play went mad . . . and in "The Ring" whoever came upon a video turned up dead. A "video cassette" is just the 20th Century's version of a play, isn't it? --And "death" replaces "madness," but it's the same idea--plagiarized.

many fans of the work of robert w. chambers insist that "the king in yellow" is an actual book, the existence of which can only be taken on faith. while i am naturally skeptical about this, as i am about the "necronomicon", i find the soul crushing ambiance of cosmic doom and impending insanity far superior to many of the famed tales of lovecraft. "the repairer of reputations" is to my mind ranked with m.r. james "casting of the runes" and "the shadow over innsmouth". whether he was writing about a real book or not, chambers obviously had something weighing on his mind. creepy as hell.

Obviously with a collection of this sort, you're going to have your hits, your misses, and your mediocrities.

First, the hits: The best story in this collection is "The Fabled Lighthouse of Viña del Mar" by Joyce Carol Oates, a captivating, spot-on diary of loneliness in the South American primeval that fleshes out a posthumous Poe storyscrap into a fully realized, phenomenal story. It's just incredible. "The Miniaturist" by Heidi Julavits is an extremely well-realized classic ghost story that's perfect for an early-a.m. reading. "Delmonico" by Daniel Handler is a very engaging and funny murder mystery. "Vivian Relf" is a basic but highly effective story of confused identities, intriguing in its account of the barely explored ability of strangers to affect us more than friends do. "The Child" is one of the better pieces I've ever read by Doyle, a quick, immediate account of a child ghost, perhaps told by an untrustworthy narrator, with a puzzling ending worthy of discussion. Let me defend "The Scheme of Things" here, which is being called aimless. It is, a bit, but the writing and plot are so strong to make up for it. It's about a poor couple who swindles other poor families by pretending to work for a charity. It's an astute look at human weakness and vulnerability, and again, unlike many pieces in this collection, the writing makes up for any tangentiality of plot.

The mediocrities: "Lusus Naturæ" by Margaret Atwood, about a literal cat-woman, is pretty good, although she's clearly out of her element and sees the story as a lark. Nevertheless, it's an accomplished lark, and probably the best of the mediocrities. David Mitchell's story, a hazy missing-relic mystery set in Hawai'i, certainly has its moments, but is also very bland in parts, flowing smoothly then dragging its feet. It's a deft voice, but it's executed too piecemeal to make it work as well as it should have.

The mediocrities, part II: Many are raving about "7C," the Weird Short Story Prize winner. It's...OK. It's really not that weird, and reins itself in where it could have been much weirder. Most of the "weirdness" comes in self-mutilation, of a scar that sort of lives. The problem isn't that it isn't that weird, it's that it advertises itself as being really bizarre when it's a pretty basic short story conceit played out in slightly errant fashion. Still, the writing's fairly strong. Many are also lauding "Zeroville" by Steve Erickson. It's a decent story, with a very good central idea (man finds similar images in very disparate films), but it's so bogged down with references, references, references it almost can't be read. You have to have spent your life as a Hollywood sycophant to get half the references--so much of the time is spent dropping names and films, the idea is all but lost. China Miéville's bizarre story "Reports of Certain Events in London" is an experimental exercise without much substance, but it's fun to read, to see the lengths the short story can be taken to. Again, the plot of it--that streets vanish just as people do--is flimsy and hardly played out, but conceptually, it's an enjoyable read.

The worst story, by far--and it's a true stinker--is "The Devil of Delery Street" by Poppy Z. Brite, which is painfully amateur, the kind of story that would be torn apart by a first-level creative writing workshop, airport literature at best. Ayelet Waldman's "Minnow" is more of the same, poorly written tripe with a cloying narrative about bland and clichéd melancholies: prescription medication, dead babies, pop culture namedrops, and soap opera hysterics. Less offensive but still pointless are Stephen King and Peter Straub's entries, which are both in desperate needs of editing--the stories are prolix as can be. They flop back and forth between decent narrative and painful stereotype dialect/lousy dialogue.

Well, it's a book worth sampling, as are most things McSweeney's--it's just as scattershot as the yearly Nonrequired Reading series.

This collection of short stories was my first step into the Mcsweeney world, and I mustsay I loved nearly all of what I read.
The stories were crafted with careful intricaty which can be quite a challenge in the short story style.

A few of my favorite stories...

1) Margaret Atwood's - Lusus Naturae -
A short interesting tale about a woman who slowly turns into a vampire and her misunderstaning of how she is and her family and eventually society deal with her.

2) Joyce Carol Oate's - The Fabled Lighthouse at the Vina del Mar
This tale grew out of some lost writings of Poe and Oate's an already exquisite author weaves of a gothic tale worth telling and retelling around the campfire.

3) Ayelet Waldman's - Minnow -
The most intriguing and superbly written short story I may have ever read. This is an eerie tale about a couple who have a miscarriage and how the mother copes and what she does to appease the crying she hears on the other end of the Baby monitor.

I hope you all enjoy the short stories as much as I did!!

I've often said that a collection of short stories is going to contain some good, some bad, and some indifferent. This collection, however, with very few notable exceptions (Stephen King, for one), contains stories that were not very good and did not hold my attention. Some of them were so poorly written that I found myself looking ahead to where the story would end, a sure bad sign for a person such as myself, who lives to read. I honestly expected better from this collection, after the first one was so good, but this was a great disappointment!

While McSweeney's last offering of this sort didn't really seem to accomplish what it set out to do: the genre stories were by genre writers and the "literary" writers didn't seem to offer anything different from what they usually write(exception, Rick Moody's Albertine Notes), this time a definite effort seems to have been made to fit their work into the genres they were aiming for in the first collection.
The work by Margaret Atwood and Jason Roberts was the best, while Heidi Julavitz sets her story up and flubs with a predictable ending that made me want to throw the book across the room. I think that some of those people who would like to separate themselves as "literary" artists have the very mistaken notion that genre writing must be predictable, either that, or Julavitz simply couldn't come up with a better ending, which would prove the anti post-modernists correct in their assumption that today's literary fiction is intended to obfuscate because the writers don't have a handle on the basics of story telling. Julavitz's ending didn't work. It was like one of those hilarious jump-cuts in the "Funkenstein" skits on Mad TV and it disappointed because it started out so well.
David Mitchell's What You Do Not Know You Want, also had a quickie ending that didn't quite work, but still managed to raise hackles, while Steve Erickson's Zeroville was superb. At any rate, this collection is definitely more enjoyable than the first and I hope that McSweeney's continues to put these out periodically.

At last, a collection of short fiction that spans genres as easily as sliding across a dark, icy lake at midnight, plummeting towards the black void of the thorns that await you at the weedy edges. Michael Chabon has gathered together some of the best writers of the era, and presents them to us as tidbits in this delectable collection.

In most of these tales, you will find the lick of the macabre, a scent of titillating sci-fi, and a squeeze of horror that make for the best of short literature.

China Mieville's 'Reports Of Certain Events In London' is a fantastic tale of rogue streets (yes, streets!) that roam the cities of the world. Joyce Carol Oates 'The Fabled Lighthouse Of Vina Del Mar' (my favorite) is a sultry, frightening tale of isolation, madness, and strange quivering sea life. Margaret Atwood delves into the bestial heredity of an otherwise sweet little girl in 'Lusus Naturae'.

A mysterious doorway taunts the edge of your vision in 'Zeroville' by Steve Erickson. A horrid foretelling of events spurs a man to try and change the future in '7C' by Jason Roberts. Meet a bartender with a gift in Daniel Handler's 'Delmonico'. Live with a household specter in 'The Devil Of Delery Street' by Poppy Z. Brite, and reminisce while deteriorating in Peter Straub's 'Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle'.

Probably one of the more prominent attractions to this book is Stephen King's new short, 'Lisey And The Madman', but while giving adequate characterization, the story fell short by being a little too long-winded, a trait of King in his later works. At any rate, with famous names like these, you know you are getting a superb treat. 'Astonishing Stories' is just that, lip smacking fun for anthology lovers. Enjoy!

Ever wanted to be a Hero in modern life?
Well at least you can play one with SCION:Hero.

This awesome and direct game is a kind of a new RPG material. In it you are described as a child of a God that has the potential to uncover its Legend in the world and save it from attacks of hidden mythic monsters. The book is full of powers, knacks, epic attributes, ideas, stunts, relics and cool ideas as how to develop your starting human into a full fledged Hero.

Imagine jumping several yads in a single hop, throwing sewer crates with ease, been the most beautiful (or dreadful) person in a Red Carpet Event, controlling the wind or breathing underwater, sustaining massive damage, saving people, commanding with your presence or voice, etc..

Definitely a MUST for the Hero-kind of players who want a quick system and a easy storytelling feel.

Scion: Hero is the first installment of the Scion series, to include Demi-God, God and soon to be released Companion and Ragnarok.

I'm going to break down the book by a few categories, feel free to use the headings to guide you, or read it all.

Presentation:
The book is beautiful. The cover art and depiction of the deities is wonderful and illustrations throughout highlight scenes of gameplay and are generally entertaining. Very similiar to the new World of Darkness books.

Concept:
The gods of old (Japanese, Aztec, Loa/Voodo, Greek/Roman, Egyptian, Norse) have been preparing for war with the recently escaped Titans whom they'd sealed away for thousands of years. In step with their preparations the gods of come to the material world to create children endowed with some of their god like power and the ability to transcend their own human limitations to god hood. These concepts should be pretty familiar to someone who has read American Gods by Neil Gaiman or who has played Exalted. Some of the other themes of the game include coming to terms with your divine heiritage, creating a legend for yourself as you grow in power, and the idea that fate has a purpose for all of the scions.

System:
The system is -VERY- similar to the Exalted 2nd edition system. It is not terribly unlike the new WoD system and with a working knowledge of old or new world of darkness the game should be a breeze to pick up, combat works differently and the difficulties are set and different but otherwise it's very simliar. The combat system can slow things down a bit, but my group has never had any real complaints. I would recommend that your players (and you for NPCs) write down dice pools and page numbers to help speed things up. As you become more familiar with the ins and outs combat speeds up dramatically- sure it's probably still slower than D&D 3.5 but it's also epic and entertaining instead of the same old grind (IMO).

"Powers": This section is a quick snapshot of the cool abilities that Scions have. First, Scions get their powers from their ever growing Legend, which is both a trait and an expendable value of points. Legend allows players to fuel their powers and also add dice to rolls, reroll, or improve defense value (an armor class of sorts). Willpower works much like it does in other White Wolf systems, and virtues can also aid the character.

'Super powers' if you will are sort of divided among 3 areas.
The first of which are boons. Boons are special powers relating to certain purviews (Sky, Earth, Death, Moon, etc) and at this phase the power's aren't PHENOMINAL but are very handy and if used by a clever player can make quite a difference.

Next are Knacks. Players get Epic Attributes (Herculean Strength for example) and in addition to getting bonuses for sheer strength, wits, charm etc they get super human knacks associated with the attribute.

Lastly are birthrights. These include animal companions (i.e. Pegasus), followers (spartan warriors), guides(obi-wan kenobi), and relics. Relics seemed the most interesting and most important. They have two ratings, one might improve the over all accuracy or damage of a weapon, while the other allows the Scion to channel purviews and use their boons. An example would be a katana that allows access to death and fire puriews that is also enhanced in accuracy and damage.


Here's a few quick guides as well
If You've Played...

Dungeons and Dragons- this game will seem off because of the modern settings and in general White Wolf games allows for more creative and innovative playing (and story telling). Instead of just throwing fireball to wipe out a horde of enemies try collapsing the ceiling, instead of just attacking the game rewards you for being descriptive in your actions.

Exalted- Some people call Scion Exalted modern, which isn't too difficult to see. Instead of different parts of the solar system representing deities it's the gods of old (see above) and you won't be AS impressive to start with but it adds to the excitement.

World of Darkness- The system will be a bit different unless you have Exalted under your belt, but shouldn't take long to figure out. The game can easily catch the darker themes presented in WoD but can be more light hearted as well, playing to a more heroic crowd than sulking goths but that's not to say the game is all sunshine and rainbows- Scion can be a very dark game indeed.

In conclusion Scion is a great game with diverse attractions and easily correctable flaws. Pace of combat can be corrected with experience and attentiveness, extra Pantheons can be found as fan published materials on the scion wiki and story ideas can be drawn from numerous sources.

This book is a prologue from Scion Trilogy...

Different from any White-wolf games, Scion gives hope to achieve...

So, for a powergamer RPG pen n paper, Scion is a must play games...

Scion is like cable tv. In order to get what you want, you have to buy a package that contains a lot of stuff you don't want, don't need, will probably never use and which only serves to drive up the price of the total package. Ideally the Scion manuals would consist of a player's handbook, a separate Storyteller's guide, and maybe a softcover campaign pack. Unfortunately that's not how the Scion books are packaged. Instead all three of those elements are combined into a set of three books which are divided based on power level rather than target audience. What that means is that if you're a player, you've still got to buy all three books, with a combined list price of over $100, just to get the full 200-250 pages of information (100-150 pages from Scion: Hero and 50 pages each from Scion: Demigod and Scion: God) that players need. That's not very good value for your money. For Storytellers the situation is a little better. Most Storytellers will find about half of every book useful because they'll be getting an additional 200-250 pages of information aimed at helping them run an ongoing Scion campaign. Still not that good a value in my opinion.

So what about the other half of the content in the Scion books? Well, each book begins with around 40 pages of mediocre fiction that you'll probably read once, if you read it at all, and then never look at again. The rest is a mini-campaign. The inclusion of this campaign completely baffles me. Its like the folks at White Wolf don't understand how roleplaying groups work. While its customary for RPGs to include a few sample adventures that GMs and Storytellers can use as a basis for creating their own adventures, I've never seen anyone devote half of every game manual to a campaign and with good reason. First, there's absolutely no reason for anyone in the group to have a copy of the campaign except the Storyteller. Its a waste of money for every person in the group to buy a copy. Second, campaigns are one shot items. You use them once and then discard them because you really can't run your players through the same adventures over and over again. So who wants to buy a campaign packaged in an expensive hardcover format? Finally, this particular campaign assumes your players will want to use the characters provided instead of creating their own which is simply unrealistic. I've never seen players opt to play pre-generated characters unless the characters in question are popular figures from some favorite book, movie or television show which these aren't. What's really annoying about the campaign is that there's so much other material that White Wolf could have included in its place that would have been of more use to players and Storytellers alike. More Pantheons, more Purviews, more Boons at every level, guidelines for setting Scion campaigns in different time periods ranging from the distant past to the far future, and so on.

If you're a Storyteller, you'll want to buy all three of the Scion books. And be prepared to spend a lot of time flipping back and forth between books while you try to remember where a certain bit of information is located. If you're a player, I can really only recommend buy Scion: Hero. The other two books just don't contain enough player information to justify spending a lot of money on them.

Scion:Hero

Roleplaying games are facilitators of imagination. You immerse yourself in a charachter in a certain genre of fiction; from high fantasy, to post apocalyptic science fiction. This charachter is typically a protaganist in a story that unfolds in real time. Most people reading this probably know these basics...

When people think roleplaying they typically think Dungeons & Dragons. High fantasy that has roots in Tolkiens LOTR for it's various settings. But lately World of Darkness and White Wolf Studios are becoming just as much a common name, due to the settings of casting the role of the charachters as the typical antagonists. Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves...pulling from various sources they created there own genre of personal horror.


This is nothing like either. This is Scion.

The setting is contemp modern day. Your charachter is a son or daughter of a God or Goddess from Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Aztec, Voudoun, or Japanese cultures. They Gods have been busy away from the earth fighting the escaped Titans of Greek Myth fame. Your divine heritage drives you to the Heroes that the world has been lacking, as the fates pull you to where you are needed. With roots in the primal stories of the most evocative mythologies the stories this game allows you to create and take part in are intense.

Highly recommended.

A nice concise summary of the life of Teddy Roosevelt. Auchincloss does a good job of detailing the essentials of his life. Roosevelt was a Republican with a progressive bent. The author showed how his policies were often at odds with the pro business Republican party. However, TR managed to compromise and get a program through Congress that was progressive. He also used power overtly as in the Panama Crisis, even though it was for the good of the country and world.

The American Presidents series are all nice reads. Although some presidents do not merit the full book, TR certainly deserves more space and attention. He was truly one of the better presidents as the author points out.

Want to know more about American presidents? The American Presidents series is one approach. This volume in the series focuses on the old Rough Rider himself, Theodore Roosevelt. First, a confession. I have read 2 of the 3 volume set by Edmund Morris. Obviously, I have an interest in depth (the second volume alone features 555 pages of text). But most people would welcome a shorter--but still good--view of TR. And this volume will meet the needs of such people.

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. has a standard Introduction to each volume. With respect to TR, some of his observations are apposite. On page xv, he says: "Great presidents possess, or are possessed by, a vision of an ideal America." Surely, that describes Roosevelt. At another point, Schlesinger says that (Page xv): "To succeed, presidents must not only have a port to seek but they must convince Congress and the electorate that it is a port worth seeking." Both observations seem to fit TR, where they did not fit Warren Harding or Chester Arthur or Rutherford Hayes or Benjamin Harrison or. . . .

The book begins by describing TR's rather well off childhood. Some problems. His beloved father dies prematurely. He had physical ailments. To address the latter, he exercised and even spent time in the Wild West, building himself up physically.

His public life began in rather exotic positions, such as president of New York City's Board of Police Commissioners. He was named as Assistant Secretary of the Navy after William McKinley's victory in the presidential campaign of 1896. After the Maine's destruction and the road to war with Spain, he resigned and, as we all know, became head of a group of troops named "The Rough Riders." After estimable service in Cuba, he returned as a war hero. The governorship of New York and then nomination as vice president to William McKinley (perhaps to get him out of New York?).

He became an accidental president after McKinley's assassination. The book chronicles his views and actions as president, when he was known as a "trust buster" and as the advocate of a "Square Deal." He was known for many accomplishments (some of which might raise eyebrows), such as the construction of the Panama Canal (as some Senator said years later, "We stole it fair and square!"). He left the presidency, followed by his handpicked successor, William Howard Taft. Then, the tale of his disillusionment with Taft, his Bull Moose campaign, his disgust with Woodrow Wilson is depicted.

Auchincloss is a fine writer, and this book reads well. For those who want a "quick and dirty" introduction to TR, this will fill the bill.

The short biographies that form the American Presidents series do an admirable job in capturing the heart of the accomplishments and characters of our country's leaders. Some of the volumes succeed further in offering, in addition to an introduction, challenging reassessments of their subject's place in history. Bunting's book on Grant and Diggins's study of John Adams are in this latter category. With a leader as complex and energetic as Theodore Roosevelt, (1858 - 1919), the task of a brief portrayal is daunting indeed. Louis Auchincloss has generally succeeded in offering a portrait of TR and his presidency that will serve for basic information. For a more complex and detailed view, the book should encourage the reader to explore further.

The American composer Scott Joplin wrote a delightful ragtime called "The Strenuous Life" in honor of TR but with a hint of satire as well. The phrase aptly describes TR and his era. A sickly child born to great wealth, the twelve-year old TR took seriously his father's injunction to "make your body!" as well as his mind. TR became a dynamo, moving out west to become the owner of a cattle ranch in Dakota in the 1880s and leading the fabled charge of the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. In the midst of a busy life, TR found time to write about 40 books, including his autobiography and innumerable letters.

In his politics, TR developed a unique position as a Republican party regular and as a progressive. He served in the 1880s' as a New York State assemblyman and as Governor of New York, among other accomplishments, before being called to the vice-presidency. He became the 26th president upon the death of McKinley in 1901, and then was elected to a term of his own. TR famously declined to run for a second elected term, a decision he lived to regret.

TR's presidency had many accomplishments, striking out in as many directions as the man himself. He was a trust-buster who believed in American capitalism, individualism and business. He was also a famous conservationist. In foreign policy, he was a mixture of calmness and bellicosity, acquiring the Panama Canal, expanding the Navy, and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for settling a dispute between Russia and Japan.

Following his term, TR took a lengthy safari as a big-game hunter in Africa and upon his return became disillusioned with the presidency of his chosen successor, William H. Taft. TR bolted the Republican party and, alas, took the progressives with him. The split in the GOP between its progressives and its conservatives has lasted to this day. The immediate result was the election of Woodrow Wilson to the presidency.

Auchincloss tells the story of TR simply and well. But I came away from this book curious to know more. In particular, I would have liked to learn more about TR's writings, some of which are available in a two-volume set published by the Library of America. Auchincloss evidences a certain skepticism about TR, pointing out ways in which TR's America, as well as TR's values, differ from contemporary America and from the choices of many contemporary Americans. As explained by Auchincloss, these values, which seem closely interrelated, center upon TR's elevation of the worth of toughness -- "machismo", -- his sexual restraint and even prudery, and his views on the relationship between men and women, which today would commonly be regarded as sexist. I remain fascinated with TR's strength, vigor, and sense of purpose, combined with his high powers of intellect. His forcefulness and belief in our country, tempered as it usually was with prudence, still has much to teach us.

Robin Friedman

This book serves as a good introduction to Theodore Roosevelt to either satisfy or stimulate one's curiosity before indulging in a lengthier biography. This is a "short" bio, and not meant to be a treatise on T.R. The author was better with his Penguin Lives book on Woodrow Wilson, but he seemed to have more fun with Roosevelt.
As a subject T.R. is especially enjoyable, but more for his forceful character than for any of his objective accomplishments (for which the author notes several, e.g., negotiating the peace between Japan and Russia, and his national conservationist orders, etc.).
The author addresses Roosevelt's sense that his presidency was relatively unspectacular, and since war time presidents receive the most historical attention (e.g., leading to positive evaluations for Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, but negative for Wilson due to his post war failures), Roosevelt felt himself cheated from his place of greatness due to being a peacetime president.
As this author notes, many of T.R.'s beliefs had long lasting value (especially, I feel, his beliefs on the limitations of capitalism as spoken by a pro-business chief executive). Those who followed him, though, soon abandoned these attitudes. The reason for this seems to rest with T.R. He accomplished much emphasizing the forcefulness of his personality and took credit for improvements as being uniquely his. Since he can be the only T.R., his philosophy could not be transmitted to others. When out of office, he was no longer "T.R." and his so-called system collapsed as with a deck of cards. He was ultimately left a shell of his former self.
What if Roosevelt had toned down some of his tendencies? Might he have extended his influence over the next administrations and the country? If so, might this have led to a different result in how America influenced the developing European disputes that resulted in the First World War? These are some of the questions that remained with me from reading this book.

This is the second volume in the new American Presidents series edited by Arthur M. Schlessinger, and like the first on James Madison, provides excellent, although brief insight into one of America's most fascinating characters. The prime focus of this book is on TR's presidential and post-presidential years. Limited space does not allow for anything more than a brief summary of Roosevelt's early life, which may actually be his most interesting period. Still there is enough to give the reader a basis for understanding Roosevelt's revolutionary power-expanding actions as President. Auchincloss does a wonderful job of filling this short volume with all of the important events of Roosevelt's life while keeping to a very enjoyable and readable style. It is a good introduction to Roosevelt and will leave you wanting to learn more.

DARK DREAMS III: WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT
Edited by Brandon Massey
Dafina Books
Trade paper, $14.00


In 2004, when Brandon Massey brought together the best of the best of the African American horror/fantasy writing community to create the Dark Dreams anthology series it contained wholly refreshing and exciting takes on the common horrors of man, told from a distinctively African American point of view. It was, in some ways, a wakeup call for the vast majority of horror readers (and even some editors) that there was a whole section of writers out there being neglected in the ever-widening scape of horror and dark fantasy.
And now we've hit number three in the anthology series and I must say I miss the halcyon days of the first two collections. WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT is a fine collection, but in no way does it match the superior quality of past offerings.
To be sure, there are some spikes on the radar.
Lexi Davis' `Are You My Daddy?' is just plain laugh out loud funny as this baby-daddy finds himself father to a kid that just won't take `no' for an answer.
Maurice Broaddus (one of my fav writers, period) gives a bone chilling existential slap to the face with `Nurse's Requiem'.
Randy Walker's `To Get Bread and Butter' may be the finest example in writing of what true madness is and how simple it is to cross that thin line between being picky and O.C.D.
And, of course, Massey's own story, `Ghostwriter' is good stuff. It's written with passion and élan.
But the other stories are just `okay'.
And that's the main problem for me. I wanted this to be better than okay. They should be better than okay. They shouldn't read like trunk stories, without focus or thematic approach. This anthology series has proven itself to be a powerful voice for African American writers in general- not just African American horror and dark fantasy writers. The vein is still full and ripe and it needs to be tapped for something more than mediocrity. These stories, each and every one of them, should be the best of the best, and should blow other anthologies out of the water. It should, in short, give Stephen Jones and run for his money for each and every one of the genre related anthology awards.
Perhaps the problem is that many of the writers had nothing significant to say about modern horror. There are several attempts at urban horror, but nothing that stands out and tries to redefine the sub-genre. There are stories of love and dysfunctional relationships, but this is all too self centered and provides no gestalt for the passive reader. No one tried to cleave the genre boundaries asunder. And in this uncertain horror day and age, as writers, white, black, polka dotted- whatever- we need to swing as broad a sword as we can to redefine the literary niche we've been assigned. If any one anthology series has a chance to do it, I think Massey's Dark Dreams could do so. But he's got to make his contributors dig deeper for that kind of power.
This wasn't deep enough for me.




--Nickolas Cook

This is the third installment of the Dark Dreams anthology series and so far, the best of the lot. Though previous entries were very good, none of them consistently delivered like this one. Oddly enough, the current book is the one with the least amount of promotion. So I thought I'd add my two cents.

I recommend Whispers In The Night on the basis of the following stories:

SCAB by Wrath James White. This story was my first introduction to White and what an introduction! Very powerful short story about where insecurity and negative self image can lead. A young man is so totally convinced he is ugly and unlovable until he perceives genuine romantic interest as ridicule and responds in the most barbaric of ways. One of the best stories in the installment.

AND DEATH RODE WITH HIM by Anthony Beal. This story deals with hell and the inability to escape it. Not as good as Scab, but a nice story nonetheless.

ARE YOU MY DADDY by Lexi Davis. This was another one of my favorites in the anthology. Once again, I never heard of Lexi Davis before this. But on the basis of her work here, I'll make an effort to purchase her future works. Davis somehow manages to combine humor and horror and turn it into a rollicking good time! This story had me literally laughing out loud! Its hysterical! So good, in fact, I was depressed when it was over. This was the first short story I read where I was disappointed it was a short story...I wanted it to go on for several more pages. If you need one reason to buy this book, this story is it!

TO GET BREAD AND BUTTER by Randy Walker. Good story -- about equal to AND DEATH RODE WITH HIM.

DREAM GIRL by Dameon Edwards -- slightly better than TO GET BREAD AND BUTTER. Actually, this would've been a much better tale if it had some sort of closure to it.

MY SISTER'S KEEPER by Chesya Burke. This was a powerful story. A sister is lost to crack addiction and her family must write her off for their own well-being. It's heartrending...remarkably potent for a short story. This is a perfect example of how to write about a depressing topic without needlessly alienating the reader. Its another favorite.

THE WASP by Robert Fleming. With all due respect to the author, I didn't care for this tale too much. Fleming's literary skills are exceptional. But the story itself bordered on sadism. A little too twisted for me. Besides being a man, the resolution left me feeling uncomfortable...

HELL IS FOR CHILDREN by Rickey Windell George. Same as above. Too depressing. Aren't black people down enough already???? Read Chesya Burke.

FLIGHT by Lawana James-Holland. Great tale. It seems a little out of place in a horror anthology though. It reads more like heroic fiction. This is the antidote to anyone put off by REH's prejudicial Solomon Kane stories. Love to see James-Holland turn this into a recurring character...

MR. BONES by Christopher Chambers. Loved this story. It reminded me of the indignities minstrel performers like Bert Williams had to endure. It really touched a nerve. If this story doesn't inspire you to conduct yourself with class and dignity, there's no hope for you. Should be required reading...another favorite.

POWER AND PURPOSE by L.R. Giles. This story is too good to be ignored. Karyn has a premonition of a popular minister's assassination. She does everything in her power to keep it from coming to pass. Karyn should be a recurring character. Giles only gets better with time. I liked his story in the previous anthology and this one is far better than that one!

GHOSTWRITER by Brandon Massey is a nice sentimental story...that adds closure to this volume. Not his best work, but it'll do...

So the stories I highly recommend reading are Scab, Are you my Daddy? My Sister's Keeper, Flight, Mr. Bones and Power and Purpose! The other stories are fine. But these more than compensate for the price of the book.

Top Stories:
* Summer
* And Death Rode with Him (The best in the book!)
* Dream Girl
* My Sister's Keeper
* Hell is for Children
* Hadley Shimmerhorn:American Icon(Good,clean,zombie fun!)
* The Love of a Zombie is Everlasting(Fits nicely as a 'part 2' to Hadley)
* Ghostwriter

Overall, the rest of the stories in the novel were ok, but there are some that seem out of place & not worth finishing. This is a wonderful series and I hope it continues to improve with each installment.

I give this one 3.5 stars. It kept me reading but that was because the stories were short and I kept hoping that one (or two) would jump out at me. I'll give my rating of each story (the "star" rating) and let you choose from there.

Summer: 3 stars
Scab: 4.5 stars
And Death Rode With Him: 3 stars
Are You My Daddy?: 3.5 stars
To Get Bread and Butter: 3 stars
My Sister's Keeper: 3 stars
The Wasp: 3 stars
Hell Is For Children: 4 stars
Flight: 2.5 stars
Hadley Shimmerhorn: American Icon: 3 stars
Nurse's Requiem: 4.5 stars (mainly because of the ending...wonderful!)
Wet Pain: 3.5 stars
The Taken: 4 stars ( I would LOVE to see this one as a full-fledged novel)
Mr. Bones: 2 stars
Rip Crew: 3.5 stars
Power and Purpose: 3.5 stars (this one was interesting)
The Love of a Zombie is Everything: 4.5 stars
Ghostwriter: 4.5 stars (the man does it again)

The third "Dark Dreams" anthology (see the superb DARK DREAMS and the even better VOICES FROM THE OTHER SIDE) is a fabulous horror collection of all new works written by black authors. There are no clinkers as the compilation runs the gamut of the genre with for the most part fresh spins such as zombies dining on a TV news reporter while on the air to infant possession to Hurricane Katrina. A few of the tales are excellent. Especially outstanding are headliner Tananarive Due, whose "Summer" focuses on the evil possession of a preschooler, and Terence Taylor's "Wet Pain" that centers on the Old South racially rising just after Katrina devastated New Orleans. Whereas Randy Walker's "To Get Bread and Butter" hits personally home and "Are You My Daddy: by Lexi Davis will leave the audience laughing, "Ghostwriter" by Mr. Massey is a fitting closer as Dark Dreams is three for three; how could it not be with tales like the aptly named "Mr. Bones" by Christopher Chambers and the ironically titled "The Love of a Zombie Is Everlasting" by Tish Jackson.

Harriet Klausner

Anyone interested in paranormal, personal histories or ghost stories will Love this book! Excellent for clergy to expand their point of view!

I purchased this book, because I love the work of Victor Hugo and was interested in this aspect of his spirituality. But the writing is terrible. Most of it seems to be a drug addled commentary on Hugo's later life by an unsympathetic critic. The writing is so bad as to frustrate the most patient of readers. If you love the work of Hugo or the philosophy of romance in literature, avoid this waste of ink and paper.

I must confess that I was thrilled the first time I read Conversations With Eternity. But at the same time I was puzzled because there were some things stated in the book that I had a hunch was totally wrong. So I began to check the verifiable information provided by John Chambers and discovered that not only did he present incorrect basic facts, such as dates, places and historic detail, he also neglected to present vital information that contradicts his version of the events that took place in Marine-Terrace. In addition, he has invented a state of mind of the Hugos, during their early exile, that simply have no connection with reality.

If you are an admirer of Victor Hugo, save your money for a decent biography instead.
If you are an advocate of the paranormal, choose mentors of higher quality than that of John Chambers.

I am telling you, what a trip! Well if you can believe it, the table did rock! Victor Hugo (1802-1885) is in excile on a lonely island and to pass time, he and his retinue conduct seances. Animals, of course, are the incarnations of criminals. (How good to know, that Stalin is now a dung beatle.) The Dove of the Ark had been guided by God to the landing place for Noahs gigantic boat. Not only animals, but also plants and stones knew what crime they had committed. Why was such knowledge not granted to man? Animals are prisons of the soul. The animal sees man and glimpses the angels. Forgiveness is Noah's Ark. Well, I think this is worth reading, even though it comes down from another century. Be curious! Gerborg

I had heard of this book for sometime before actually reading it and when I finally ordered it and began my reading; I was off on the most amazing adventure of metaphysical ideas I've ever encountered. As a student of Spiritualism as well as the Alan Kardec inspired spiritualist philosophy known as Spiritism from a historical and sociological perspective, this book brings to life the intensity of those 19th century psychonauts who in living with human mortality in a much more immediate way than we do now, documents their explorations of one of the fundamental questions of existence- do we survive death.
And the answers to those pointed questions that were revealed to the Hugo circle during his period of exile from France are simply breathtaking. First is their sheer poetic verbal majesty, secondly in the intimations of a universal mind that is both the embodiment of that "love which steers the stars" of Dante's "Divine Comedy" to the impersonal karmic justice that minimizes the inflated human ego in the scheme of things.
I cannot recomend this book highly enough, it will remain with you for thought & contemplation long after you've finished the final page.

I gave copies of this book to everyone I managed at Microsoft. I can't say enough good things about it. There is nothing more important in the workplace than being able to get your point across and making sure you understand what is being said to you. The basic philosophy is, "all communication failures are your fault." It is your responsibility to make sure that what you are saying is understood, and it is your responsibility to make sure that you understand what you are being told. There is never a place for finger-pointing when communication breaks down. This book gives techniques, examples, and ideas to help ensure that information is transmitted and received properly. What's really interesting is that there is nothing that limits what he's talking about to the workplace. There are things to think about here that apply to dealing with family and friends, without the fluff you get in similar books in the self-help section.

This book explains the difficulties in the communication among technical persons as well as between technical and non-technical persons. From my own experience I know that talking to technical experts can be very painful. At times they just shout at you and don't listen to what you say. They think that their expertise gives them the right to treat everyone else bad.

The best chapter in this book is chapter 4 "giving and receiving criticism". In the past I had difficulties to convey my critical comments
to technical experts and software developer. As they are very proud of their own work you need to take a lot of care not hurt them. The best way is to explicity state what they have done good before you say what they could do better to even improve their work. I am sure that I can apply these tipps in my work place

This book ist must-read for everyone in a technical environment and for everyone dealing with technical experts.

Good book. Details the issues in the "cubicle" world of today. Explains how to improve the number one problem in engineering (and business) today, communication!

I found this book to flow well, giving a lot of good tips on how to conduct better communications in a business/commercial environment. The layout is fairly simple to navigate, and sections that are uninteresting can easily be skipped. For those with more constrained time schedules, the book contains notes in most sections that give highlights of the main points that are made. Reading just these notes would give a pretty good review of the material, or exposure that may or may not make a lasting impression.

There are quite a few lists and tables that sum up the "need-to-know" points, so I think that reviewing material after reading the full text should be an easy task. I highly recommend this text for anyone that has never been taught effective listening skills, and also recommend the book for anyone else that feels even a slight motivation to improve their inter-personal communication skills.

Mr. Chambers has put together a practical book that dissects many of the basic concepts of communication, and provides some insights about technical professionals. While I don't agree with all his points and believe he tends to over-generalize, the content is solid and easy to understand. For any technical professional looking to increase their overall mastery of soft skills, I would recommend they go beyond this book and find a good set of workshops that allow for testing and practicing the types of concepts outlined.